Rare Early 19th Century Anglo-indian Ivory & Sadeli Mosaic Tea Caddy C.1820

Name: Rare Early 19th Century Anglo-indian Ivory & Sadeli Mosaic Tea Caddy C.1820
Brand: Antique
SKU: SA240027
Availability: SoldOut

19th century

Sold by Puckerings

Description

An exquisite example of an Anglo-Indian Sadeli Mosaic single compartment tea caddy dating to around 1820, in superb condition. Rarely seen in this eight sided shape, in fact I can't remember if I have had one this shape before.

The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made. It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials.

Ivory, silver, pewter (or other metals), wood and horn were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue has set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green to give an extra colour, as in this example.

A highly collectible example in superb condition, measuring

The box opens to reveal a fabulous lid with turned knob handle and the edges to both top and bottom, beautifully inlaid.

The box does come with a working key, a little large for the box, but does the job.

A highly collectible example in superb condition, measuring 4 3/4" x 3 3/4" x 4 3/4" tall.

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Item ID: 35131A

Declaration

Puckerings has dated this piece to the 1800s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA240027

Dealers Internal Reference

35131A

Dealers Notes

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Description

“

The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made.

Puckerings

It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials.

fig 1. Rare Early 19th Century Anglo-Indian Ivory & Sadeli Mosaic Tea Caddy c.1820 — fig 1. Rare Early 19th Century Anglo-indian Ivory & Sadeli Mosaic Tea Caddy C.1820

Ivory, silver, pewter (or other metals), wood and horn were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue has set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green to give an extra colour, as in this example.